The Brisbane Powerhouse is proudly displaying the “Nikon-Walkey Press Photography Exhibition 2011”.
Located throughout the venue, these amazing press images are worth taking the time to peruse whilst sipping a wine from the nearby Powerhouse Bar.
Last year’s collection of photo-journalism feature many images from the devastating Queensland floods which will definitely bring back the memories for many Queenslanders visiting the exhibition.
Action shots by Neville Madsen of the infamous “Toowoomba Tsunami” capture the sheer ferociousness of the water as it ripped through the city’s streets.
Unsurprisingly, Madsen won the award in the “Community/Regional” category.
Brian Cassey’s fascinating portrait of burns victim Carol Mayer (featured above) won him the award for the “Portrait” category.
Unfortunately, tragedy makes news, so many of the photographs in this exhibition aren’t happy snaps. There are the occasional ‘feel good’ shots however and all pictures are worth viewing.
If you’re visiting the Brisbane Powerhouse for the World Theatre Festival, take the extra time to view some of these amazing images. They feature upon the walls in the main foyer, the VISY foyer and near the main bar.
The exhibition finishes on Monday 27 February. Entry is free.
The World Theatre Festival is currently in full swing at the Brisbane Powerhouse. With many shows selling tickets at around $10, last night I took advantage of a free production called “The Trouble With Harry.”
Written by Australian playwright Lachlan Philpott, “The Trouble With Harry” is based on the true story of Eugenia Falleni, aka Harry Leo Crawford, who posed as a man for the majority of her life – marrying twice – and convicted of the murder of first wife Annie Birkett in July 1920.
This 90 minute production is the premier of Philpott’s play with the actors still reading from scripts. But don’t let that discourage you; all actors do a fantastic job with their complex roles, some taking on multiple roles throughout the show.
Top marks go to the actors who play Harry, Annie and Josephine (sadly we weren’t introduced to the actors or told their names) with Harry reminding me a lot of actress Robin Weigert (Calamity Jane) in Deadwood.
“The Trouble With Harry” is a sad story made even more compelling knowing that it is based on fact.
It is currently being performed as part of the World Theatre Festival for free until Friday 24 February.
Currently on at the Brisbane Powerhouse is WTF (World Theatre Festival).
Last weekend I experienced two productions: “The Room” and “And The Birds Fell From The Sky.”
Both pieces were interactive theatre and both were quite different.
THE ROOM:
The Room was an interactive production where our small group of 10 audience members were sent around The Powerhouse Theatre, guided by a map or instructions from one of the performers.
We were first taken outside the building and each collected a suitcase that was filled with props. At various stages throughout the 30 minutes we were asked to take out an item from our individual case.
At the conclusion of our adventure, we found ourselves within “The Room” where we had to improvise with the actors within the space.
I found the whole experience a little bewildering with the conclusion leaving me wondering what the whole purpose of our excursion had been for.
My partner enjoyed the participation aspect of this piece, but I simply found it odd with no real conclusion.
But for the $10 ticket, it was an interesting 30 minutes.
AND THE BIRDS FELL FROM THE SKY:
I loved every moment of this bizarre and intriguing interactive piece. My partner, not so much.
Conducted with just an audience of two, my partner and I were first seated in a waiting room. A TV played nearby transmitting faux news reports. A small newsletter was provided for reading, which featured articles about clowns and birds and other strange topics.
After a few minutes, were we instructed to stand and harnessed with a pair of video goggles and an MP3 player. The goggles were now our eyes and enveloped us within the production.
The narrator of the program told us what to do: look left, look up, sit down, hold out your right hand, etc, and the film before us correlated with the instructions.
Unable to see the room around us, we were fully engulfed by the video playing through the goggles and guided by the narrator.
We were told to carefully sit as a wheel chair was placed behind each of us, spun about and taken into a second room. We each stood and were guided into a “car” where we met crazy Faruk Clowns.
The scene reminded me of the movie “Blue Velvet” when Jeffrey Beaumont was forced into the car with the insane Frank Booth and taken on a mad ride to a drug supplier’s house.
Although I knew nothing was going to happen to me, the sounds and images still made me a little nervous.
To add to this, the live performers who were assisting us interacted with our sense of smell by wafting a bottle of alcohol before us or igniting a cigarette lighter at the same moment with the movie so we could smell the fumes.
Although the story itself was rather “out there” I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.
Probably not one for those who suffer panic attacks or claustrophobia (due to wearing the goggles for the 16 minute production), but if you’re looking for something that little bit different, it’s well worth the $10 entry ticket.
The World Theatre Festival is on at the Brisbane Powerhouse until Sunday 26 February.
It’s not often that Melbourne’s Absolutely 80s band travels north to Queensland. So when they dropped into Club Helensvale last Saturday night I was there to catch the free gig.
Tonight’s lineup featured Uncanny X-Men star Brian Mannix, Kids In The Kitchen frontman Scott Carne and Boom Crash Opera lead singer Dale Ryder.
Also, special guest on bass guitar was Uncanny X-men bassist John Kirk.
Combining a mixture of original 1980s songs and duet covers (Queen’s “Under Pressure” and Bowie/Jagger hit “Dancing in the Streets” amongst many) the Absolutely 80s team produced a fun evening of reminiscing down memory lane.
Although I enjoy their original classics more than their covers, I couldn’t help but dance along to the trio’s rendition of INXS’ “Don’t Change” and Dragon’s “Rain.”
Always a fun night out, if your heart is still stuck in the ‘80s make sure you catch the Absolutely 80s band at a venue near you.
I received free tickets to the Albion Comedy Club and Restaurant in Brisbane for last night.
Headliner act was supposedly Triple M’s Greg Sullivan, so I decided to take the punt and rock along.
The room sits 350 guests and it was full last night. Almost to the point that I felt claustrophobic.
We arrived at 6:15pm as instructed and were promptly seated near the front of the stage which had a good view.
We ordered meals but baulked at the prices: most dishes were between $20 and $30 which seemed expensive for what they were.
Dinner was followed by $10 desserts which had a queue 30 minutes long. And that was just to *order* them.
Tonight’s MC was comedian Alan Glover. He worked hard tonight, trying to keep the attention of the 350 patrons, and did well.
I was disappointed to be told that the headliner wasn’t Sullivan, but rather Magician Scott Davies.
Tonight’s first support acts were comedian-cum-magician Peter Booth and local stand-up Casey Talbot. Both gents were entertaining but nothing we hadn’t seen before.
We were then introduced to comedian Steven J Whiteley. Dressed in a heavy metal band shirt, black cap and jeans, Whiteley quickly won the audience over with his quick wit and banter with rude hecklers.
Covering such topics as Facebook, My Family stickers and the Brisbane suburb of Clontarf (which he pronounces “Clonnarff”) Whiteley had the crowd on his side and loving his act.
Almost a shame to see Whiteley leave the stage as our final act Scott Davies began his magic routine.
A likable entertainer, Davies performed illusions with rope, cards, disappearing Coke bottles and did a “Houdini” by escaping out of a straight-jacket in 1 minute and 5 seconds.
It was obvious that this performer worked on cruise ships as his routine was quite family friendly and enjoyable to watch. The most perplexing routine was the “moving card” trick which he performed by guessing an audience member’s card and drawing the card in a sketch pad. We then proceeded to watch the drawing *move* before our very eyes! Yes, it’s all an illusion, but that one still has me baffled.
The Albion Comedy Club acts were entertaining, but in this punter’s opinion, the venue doesn’t match up to the Sit Down Comedy Club in Paddington.
Meals were too expensive. Queues at the bar were too long. The room was extremely noisy. And I felt trapped at my table due to the room being over crowded.
It’s a shame that the good comedy was let down by the actual venue.
Albion Comedy Club
281 Sandgate Road, Albion
(Parking at rear or catch the train to Albion Railway Station which is within walking distance.)
“The Artist” is a brave production by film writer and director Michel Hazanavicius by releasing a black and white silent movie in 2011-12.
I don’t mind the occasional silent movie – “Nosferatu” and “Metropolis” are classics for me – but did wonder how I would sit through 100 quiet minutes in a cinema.
Thankfully, “The Artist” isn’t entirely dead silent, accompanied by a terrific music score which helps create the feel of each scene.
I expected more “narration screens” throughout the film and was surprised by the lack of these which usually help tell the story. The actors, however, didn’t need much assistance, as their facial expressions conveyed what needed to be said beautifully.
“The Artist” is about fictitious silent movie actor George Valentin (Jean Dujardin). It is 1927 and at the height of his acting career in silent movies, “talkies” are coming into fashion.
After an unplanned meeting with movie extra Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), Miller decides to audition as an extra for Valentin’s next film.
Quickly noticed on the big screen, Miller soon rises to fame and is approached to appear in the lead role of a “talkie”.
Full of pride, Valentin doesn’t believe in such movies and refuses to be in them. As talking films quickly take over, silent movies become less popular and Valentin soon finds himself out of work and broke, whilst Miller launches into movie stardom and becomes the next big sensation in the cinema.
“The Artist” is an interesting and fun movie suitable for the entire family. Although it is in black and white (not uncommon for an award winning movie – who could forget the fabulous “Schindler’s List” shot entirely in monochrome except for a little girl’s red coat) the lack of colour only adds to the 1920’s feel of the film.
The absence of narration cards and speech works surprisingly well as one gets the general gist of what is being said without actually having to read or hear the words.
It was great to see Hollywood favourites John Goodman and James “Thatwilldopig” Cromwell also in the cast of such a gutsy project.
Although many of the movie trailers feature George Valentin and Peppy Miller dancing, don’t expect dance routines throughout the entire movie. “The Artist” is a lot more than just a musical number.
“The Artist” – something a little out of the ordinary without being too out there.
From giant puppets and a flying pig to an exploding aeroplane and dazzling fireworks… “Roger Waters: The Wall” was one spectacular production last Saturday night from start to finish.
Not since Iron Maiden’s “Somewhere In Time” tour and “War Of The Worlds live on stage” had I been so mesmerised by a live show. Combining exciting music, visual effects and props, Waters kept the entire Brisbane Entertainment Centre captivated for two short hours.
Playing the entirety of Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” album, Waters’ performance in Brisbane last Saturday night was both imaginative and entertaining. The slow creation of the white cinderblock wall throughout the show was not only a subtle metaphor but also a creative way of including a blank screen to project correlating images upon the stage.
Brisbane’s Wall spread from one side of the Entertainment Centre to the other, starting with a huge cut-out in the centre upon the main stage. As the show progressed, the back stage crew slowly added bricks, filling in gaps, until the end of Act 1 when the last block was placed before interval.
The Wall acted as a great projection screen, images constantly changing, which worked extremely well during “The Trial” in Act 2.
The obvious crowd pleaser of the evening was the Pink Floyd hit “Comfortably Numb” which had the crowd screaming appreciatively. “Mother” and the popular “Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)” and “Is There Anybody Out There” also had folks singing around us.
To pick a favourite song from the night would be difficult, however this fan has always enjoyed the “In The Flesh” and “Run Like Hell” scenes from The Wall movie, and this live performance of the scene was spot on.
“Roger Waters: The Wall” is a definite ‘must see’ for every Pink Floyd fan. From the opening fireworks to the collapsing wall at the finale, you will not be disappointed.
Posted in Comedy, Music on January 31, 2012 by millisynth
It felt more like a dress rehearsal than a full concert with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
But a very relaxed and casual Tim Minchin still pulled off one great show last Saturday night at the Brisbane Convention Centre.
Last March, a very polished Mr Minchin wowed Brisbane with the POPS Symphony Orchestra, belting out two hours of quirky tunes on his grand piano backed by the local Orchestra. His show was an instant hit and his Sydney show was soon broadcast nationwide on the ABC television network.
Saturday night’s show was a ‘re-run’; a chance for those fans who didn’t catch the show the first time around to see it.
And Saturday night’s performance was exactly that. The same format, the same songs (albeit we only had “Not Perfect” as the encore for this show), the same jokes.
But this gig felt different.
Minchin was a lot more laid back, more casual with his banter with the audience and orchestra. It felt more like a dress rehearsal than a show that had been played countless times before.
Minchin appeared very relaxed during the entire performance, joking and smiling and shrugging off mistakes as if it were all just part of it.
His attempt at playing the guitar in the opening song “Cage” was a nice addition, although Minchin admitted that he was ‘crap at it’ and he wouldn’t be doing it again at any of the other Australian shows.
All the favourites were there once again including “Lullaby”, “Prejudice”, “Context”, “You Grew On Me”, “If I Didn’t Have You”, “Cheese”, “Thank You, God” and “Rock N Roll Nerd”.
The closer was his traditional last song (which includes his Eddie Vedder impersonation) “Dark Side.”
“For about five years I tried to come up with another song to finish my shows with,” Minchin explained, “And at the start of last year… I gave up.”
“Tim Minchin Vs The Orchestra, Round II” is currently touring Australia – with most shows already sold out!
For all details on up coming gigs, please visit Tim Minchin’s Official Website: http://www.timminchin.com/gigs/
Posted in Books, charities on January 25, 2012 by millisynth
Held twice a year, Brisbane’s Lifeline Bookfest is a great opportunity to not only pick up a bargain but also to help make a difference to a resourceful not-for-profit charity.
Funds raised at each Bookfest help run Lifeline’s free face-to-face counselling support, specialist counselling programs for children and families, suicide prevention and awareness programs, and the 24-hour Crisis Counselling Line.
Brisbane bookworms Mil, Maria, Geoff and Julia helped lend a hand on Friday 20th January by volunteering their time amongst rows and rows of second hand books.
“Our group got to be ‘sorters’ for the day,” explained Mil, “Our task was to walk down the aisles of trestle tables replacing books which customers had carelessly left scattered about.”
“I preferred being a sorter rather than calculating the sales,” said Maria, who worked on the cash register last June, “It was a great way to spend the day. We not only got to help Lifeline but we also got to spend the day browsing the thousands of second hand books for sale.”
The group agreed that it was a wonderful experience and would definitely volunteer at Brisbane’s Lifeline Bookfest again.
The next Brisbane Lifeline Bookfest is scheduled for June 2012.
For more information about attending or volunteering at the event, please refer to their website:
It’s only been a year since Andy LaPlegua’s last visit to Australia with Combichrist and mere months since his tour with Icon Of Coil. So it seems that the land Down Under is a hit with the musically gifted Norwegian.
December 2010 saw Combichrist at Brisbane’s Step Inn celebrating their newly released “Making Monsters” album. With only a handful of punters at that gig, the entire crowd was reduced to one solid, heaving moshpit.
Last Saturday night, Combichrist returned to ‘Bane, this time to Westend’s multi-tiered HiFi Bar.
The first support act was Brisbane metal band DarkC3ll who played a set of original songs, ending with a cover of Nine Inch Nail’s “Head Like A Hole” which seemed to get the nod of approval from the punters… or maybe they were just headbanging.
Two DJ sets then filled the next two hours: AngelSpit’s Zoog, dressed in familiar red PVC with a torn black jacket stood centre stage, rolling out a variety of remixes, some incorporating David Bowie samples. It was an hour that my friends and I tolerated, only due to our excitement of being at a Combichrist gig.
At the end of Zoog’s set, DJ Lab7 dominated the stage, once again invading our ears with another hour of noise. This began to do my head in, so my party discretely left the venue for the bar next door to give our ears a well deserved rest.
At 11pm, we made our way back to the moshpit in time for the headline act.
Not as fully made-up as their 2010 gig which had the band in full body monster make-up, Combichrist were still out to entertain this Queensland crowd.
Tonight’s set included anticipated tracks from their latest “Making Monsters” album (“Follow The Trail Of Blood”, “Just Like Me”, “Throat Full Of Glass” and “F*ckmachine” which was dedicated to the Brisbane fans) as well as a few surprise songs as “Deathbed” and “Blut Royale”.
Crowd pleasers were “Today I Woke To The Rain Of Blood”, “Get Your Body Beat”, “Slave To Machine” and the main set finishing with “They” which had the entire moshpit rocking.
The night’s encore was a two song stompfest of “Never Surrender” and an amazing live version of “What The F*ck Is Wrong With You” with the crowd screaming the chorus and punching fists into the air.
As always, Combichrist’s two drummers added a visual delight to their act, often very animated, leaping upon their kits, splashing water upon the drum skins and twirling sticks in the air.
LaPlegua’s animated monster facial expressions and pure energy kept the crowd’s attention and on their feet with hardly a moment when the fans didn’t stop dancing.
A slight disappointment was the sound from the HiFi’s moshpit being somewhat muddy with the vocals and killing any chance of hearing the lyrics.
Moving to the back of the venue, I discovered it to be a little clearer. But the moshpit was where the action was, and my return venture to the front won me a meeting with LaPlegua as he moshed his way through the heaving crowd.
As with their 2010 show, Combichrist didn’t disappoint this fan. This was the third time I had seen them play live and their energy is always amazing, enveloping their fans to the very last song.
Although I would have liked “Red” and “All Your Bass” in the setlist, I couldn’t fault the last three songs which had the entire venue on their feet and jumping to the beat.
